Latest news with #IanCraig
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Roald Dahl sketches sell for almost £24,000 at auction
Original drawings by Roald Dahl which were found in an envelope have sold for almost £24,000. The collection of sketches were produced by Dahl in black ball point pen for his memoir, Boy (1984), in which he describes his experience of growing up. They were found in an envelope marked 'Dahl's drawings & odds and sods', which belonged to Ian Craig (1944-2023), art director at the author's publishing firm, Jonathan Cape, in London. Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book, inspired by Dahl's drawings. The sketches were auctioned as part of the production archive from the late Mr Craig's estate and sold for £23,940 when they went under the hammer at Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books & manuscripts specialist, said: 'This archive is unique in the Roald Dahl canon – it's very rare to find material by his own hand. 'This is reflected in the price achieved which also demonstrates the enduring popularity of his children's stories 35 years after his death.' Dahl died in 1990 aged 74 and Boy is the only book which he produced illustrations for during his career of almost five decades. In the book, he writes about his childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. To accompany the story, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air. The collection of sketches was bought by a single buyer who wished to remain anonymous. A collection of rare manuscripts from Kilravock Castle, near Nairn in Highlands, also went under the hammer on Wednesday. It included a selection of letters and documents signed by Mary Queen of Scots, her father, James V, son, James VI and I, and mother, Mary of Guise. The collection sold for £124,614 to a number of different buyers as part of Lyon & Turnbull's Books & Manuscript auction. Described as one of the most important collections of historical Scottish manuscripts ever offered for sale, it included a letter from Mary, Queen of Scots to the Laird of Kilravock, appointing him Sheriff for Inverness and dated September 26 1565. The letter, signed by both the Queen ('Marie R.') and her then husband, Henry Stewart, Earl of Darnley ('Henry R.') sold for £15,120. Another of her letters, again signed jointly by the pair, in which they remove the charge of Inverness Castle from the Laird of Kilravock and give it to the Earl of Huntly, dated October 9 1565, went for £11,340. A group of five letters from her mother, Mary of Guise, sold for £6,930. Cathy Tait, head of books & manuscripts at Lyon & Turnbull, said: 'We are absolutely delighted with the results of the archive from Kilravock Castle. 'There was a great deal of interest from a wide range of collectors, both private and institutional.' 'The documents sold today comprise a range of very old and important items, illuminating Scotland's history, and we are pleased that they have found good homes.' All prices include buyer's premium.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Roald Dahl's sketches for memoir sell at auction for £24,000
Original sketches done by children's author Roald Dahl for his memoir have sold for nearly £24, who was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, produced the sketches in black ballpoint pen for the book Boy, which was published in his almost five-decade long career, these are the only book sketches he ever sold in Edinburgh for £23,940 as part of Lyon & Turnbull's books and manuscripts sale on Wednesday. In the book, Dahl - who moved to Buckinghamshire and died in 1990 at the age of 74 - wrote about his childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. To accompany this tale, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the drawings were found in an envelope which belonged to the late Ian Craig, from Ipswich, who was art director at the author's publishing firm, Jonathan Cape, in sketches were sold as part of the production archive from Mr Craig's estate and included Mr Craig's own designs, as well as the publisher's original page layouts and Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books and manuscripts specialist said: "This archive is unique in the Roald Dahl canon – it's very rare to find material by his own hand."This is reflected in the price achieved which also demonstrates the enduring popularity of his children's stories 35 years after his death."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Roald Dahl original sketches for memoir to be auctioned
Roald Dahl's original sketches, created for his memoir, will be sold at auction after being found in an envelope. Dahl, who was born in the Cardiff suburb of Llandaff, produced the sketches in black ballpoint pen for the book Boy, which was published in 1984. He died in 1990 aged 74, and in his almost five-decade long career, these are the only book sketches he ever sketches will be sold in Edinburgh as part of Lyon & Turnbull's books and manuscripts sale on 18 June. The sketches are part of a collection estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30, his memoir Dahl recalled various childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner Mrs Pratchett by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper illustrate to prank, Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the drawings were found in an envelope marked "Dahl's drawings & odds and sods" which belonged to Ian Craig, the art director at publishing house Jonathan Cape. Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book inspired by Dahl's also oversaw the production of the book and the archive includes his designs, as well as the original page layouts and Craig came up with the title, and received a letter from Dahl saying: "I must thank you for coming up with the first sensible title for my book. 'Boy' is fine. We all like it…"His widow, Kate Craig, who also worked at Jonathan Cape, said the publication of Boy was "on a very tight publication schedule". Dahl's usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was "away on holiday," she said, so "Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations"."Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings."Ian never got paid for the illustrations, but Dahl did give him one of his trademark blue cashmere cardigans as a thank you, which he treasured." Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books and manuscripts specialist, said: "It's absolutely thrilling to see Roald Dahl's one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketches up close."They are a unique addition to his canon and allow us to observe the transformation of his childhood memories into the printed form, a medium in which they would be cherished by generations of readers."Ian Craig undoubtedly played a key role in Dahl's publishing success, overseeing not only the production of Boy, but many more of his famous children's stories."This archive gives an insight into the creative processes behind a book still enjoyed by children across the world today." What was Roald Dahl's Cardiff connection? Dahl was born during World War One on 13 September 1916 in Llandaff. His Norwegian father Harald was a ship broker and he was named after polar explorer Roald AmundsenThe family moved to live in Radyr - a house called Ty Mynydd - in 1918He went to school in Llandaff until 1925, before being sent out of Wales to boarding schoolA blue plaque now marks the former sweet shop in Llandaff where Dahl and his friends played the famous trick on the owner, Mrs Pratchett
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Drawings from author Roald Dahl to be sold at auction
Pictures drawn for a book about the life of children's author Roald Dahl are going on auction after being found in an envelope. The famous author drew the images himself using a black ballpoint pen for Boy, which was published in book is the only which Dahl produced illustrations for during his long career. The sketches, which are expected to be sold on Wednesday, are part of a collection estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000. In his book, Dahl describes some of the things he got up to as a child, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner Mrs Pratchett by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air to illustrate the naughty act. The drawings were found in an envelope belonging to Ian Craig, who ended up creating the final illustrations for the author's memoir. He stepped in as Dahl's usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was away on holiday at the time. "The publication of Boy was on a very tight publication schedule," said Ian Craig's widow Kate. "As Quentin Blake was away on holiday, Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations."Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings."
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Drawings by Roald Dahl for memoir Boy to be sold at auction
Original drawings children's author Roald Dahl produced for his memoir are to be sold at auction after being found in an envelope which belonged to a colleague. The sketches were produced by Dahl in black ballpoint pen for Boy, which was published in 1984. Dahl died in 1990 aged 74 and Boy is the only book which he produced illustrations for during his career of almost five decades. The sketches will be sold in Edinburgh as part of Lyon & Turnbull's books and manuscripts sale on Wednesday. They are part of a collection estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000. In his memoir, Dahl recalled various childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air to illustrate the escapade. He had being approached to help by publishing house Jonathan Cape as his usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was on holiday. The drawings were found in an envelope marked 'Dahl's drawings & odds and sods' which belonged to Ian Craig, the art director at Jonathan Cape. Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book, inspired by Dahl's drawings, and received a blue cashmere cardigan as a gift from the author. The sketches being auctioned are part of the production archive for Boy from Mr Craig's estate. Mr Craig oversaw the production of Boy and the archive includes his designs, as well as the original page layouts and correspondence. He also came up with the title, and received a letter from Dahl saying: 'I must thank you for coming up with the first sensible title for my book. 'Boy' is fine. We all like it…' Mr Craig, who grew up in Ipswich, was a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and joined Jonathan Cape in 1973, five years before Dahl began a partnership with illustrator Blake. His widow Kate Craig, who also worked at Jonathan Cape, said: 'The publication of Boy was on a very tight publication schedule. 'As Quentin Blake was away on holiday, Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations. 'Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings. 'Ian never got paid for the illustrations, but Dahl did give him one of his trademark blue cashmere cardigans as a thank-you, which he treasured.' Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books and manuscripts specialist, said: 'It's absolutely thrilling to see Roald Dahl's one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketches up close. 'They are a unique addition to his canon and allow us to observe the transformation of his childhood memories into the printed form, a medium in which they would be cherished by generations of readers. 'Ian Craig undoubtedly played a key role in Dahl's publishing success, overseeing not only the production of Boy, but many more of his famous children's stories. 'This archive gives an insight into the creative processes behind a book still enjoyed by children across the world today.'
